By Susan de Castro McCann
Redstone Review Editor

LYONS — Members of the Ann Ripley’s Not So Serious Art Group are a rather shy group of people who would hesitate to call themselves artists. The group gathers on Monday mornings to paint, draw, sketch or just have coffee and enjoy some of Ripley’s ginger bread with whipped cream.

Not So Serious is the key to the group’s success. The group is made up of retired school teachers, journalists, photographers, a minister, a hair dresser, an art historian and various others who want to dabble in paint or pencils.

When Katherine Weadley, a member of the art group and the Lyons Arts and Humanities Council, LAHC, suggested to the group that they exhibit their work in the town hall, several were reluctant saying that they had nothing to show. But eventually they agreed to show their work.

An opening night event was held on February 5 at the town hall. And for a period of time the place was packed. Weadley introduced Lyons Trustee Tina Schooler, the town board liaison to LAHC, who welcomed the artists and talked about appreciating the arts community in Lyons.

But on Monday February 16 after the town board meeting was over, several town board members said they were offended by one of the paintings, a small water color painting of a nude seated in a chair. The town clerk promptly removed the painting and called the artist to pick it up. Several members of the art group felt offended by a lack of proper procedure and wanted to take down their art work from the show.

Mayor pro tem Brian Donnell said he was not aware of the concerns of some of the board members, but said that he wanted to make sure that proper procedure was followed and suggested that the board and the LAHC come up with guidelines.

In the meantime he had the painting reinstated to hang in the show, but asked if it could be veiled. Weadley said no. They agreed to move the painting farther back in the room.

Weadley called one of the offended members of the town board, Trustee Juli Waugh, to explain that the LAHC was formed by a previous town board to promote art in public places including the town hall and that the offended board members were violating freedom of expression and not following any procedure at all by simply dismissing an artist work and taking it off the wall. Waugh agreed and at the next board meeting she read a statement saying that she publicly apologized to the art community and the art group. She went on to say that she campaigned for and still supported the arts and artists in Lyons when she ran for the town board and she did not mean to offend the art community or artists in Lyons.

Trustee Kathy Carroll, also offended by the painting, said at the town board meeting, “This is interesting because this is both a public building and a work place. I see it more as a work place and nude painting have no place in a work place.”

Trustee Kirk Udovich said that he did not think that it was the place of the town board to decide what constitutes art and what is not art.

This kind of issue has gone all the way to the Supreme Court and the courts have generally favored the artists on the issue. Weadley read some of the courts’ rulings.

In 2001 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city of Pasco, Wash. had violated the rights of two artists when their works were censored by the city. The pieces, which included nudity, were censored because of their sexual nature.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Paul Lawrence summed up this case by saying “The city of Pasco had decided to open City Hall as a public forum for art. The courts have said clearly that once government officials make such a decision, they cannot make choices based on the content of the art – whether it’s controversial or offends someone’s political sensibilities.”

In 1998, according to the First Amendment Center, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decency standard for art in the NationalEndowment for the Arts v. Finley. However, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, writing for the majority, explained that the NEA decency standard was merely advisory and simply added one more consideration to a variety of pre-existing subjective criteria.

Then Weadley read a prepared statement to the board saying that nude paintings and photographs had been displayed at the town hall in the past and this was the first nude to be physically removed. She recommended that if someone complains about a piece of art in the town hall or if a trustee has a complaint in the future, the town board liaison should contact the LAHC which would then decide if the art is appropriate or not.

The town board agreed to let the LAHC decide what art is appropriate for the town hall and the nude remained in the show until the show ended.

Back to Top